Beginning Destiny's Dance
by Slim Gohan
Summary: Aqua attends a ball held in her honor, and there, she meets a Gambler who offers to change her life forever...


Beginning Destiny's Dance

By Slim Gohan

Disclaimer and A/N: I make no profit off of the story. Kingdom Hearts and all of its related characters are property of Disney and Square-Enix. This is sort of the prequel to "My Heart Will Always Belong To You," but is definitely a stand-alone story. I hope you enjoy it. The lyrics do not belong to me either, as they belong to Natsumi Kiyoura.

Side Note: See if you can spot the Princess and the Frog reference!

* * *

_"As long as you'll let me _

_hold your hand,_

_how far shall we go? _

_Together with you,_

_I can go anywhere. _

_Let's go embrace_

_the rustling scent _

_of a world yet unseen"_

_- Natsumi Kiyoura, "Tabi no Touchuu"_

_

* * *

_

Looking at herself in the mirror, Aqua mused that she hated what she was about to attend.

These large parties, hosted at a grand ballroom, in some sort of lavish castle, where the upper-class of the world can associate, where the women of the world dance and flirt in hopes to snag a man with munny, where the men hope to find their one true love or their lady on the side, and where the most beautiful dresses were shown off in the most beautiful of dances.

Aqua sighed out loud. "I should be honest with myself…I do like the dresses and the dancing. But…I have the Keyblade now! I should find a master to train me! I _need_ to develop my skills!"

She nodded in frustration. "I should have just declined the invitation." Then, she shook her head 'no' in disagreement with herself. "What's the use? I couldn't decline the invitation even if I tried. Me going to this thing will make my family so happy…I may as well just try to enjoy the ball…"

She took a serious look at herself in the mirror. "Still…I _do_ love this dress." Aqua admired herself in her blue ball gown – a darker turquoise at top leading to a lighter turquoise at the bottom, with silver and light purple keyblade designs going across the bottom of the dress – with the matching long turquoise gloves, and silver heels to round out the combination.

She stopped looking for a second, and concentrated. As a result, her Keyblade appeared in her hands. "Can you forgive me? I will learn about you, but this one night is important…so, let me have this one night before I dedicate myself to mastering you…"

* * *

She arrived by carriage to gala, and was escorted into the castle by a royal guard. The guard looked like a kind gentleman, judging by the way he escorted her (gentle, yet strong), and his smile. Meanwhile, Aqua was in awe at the majesty of the castle she was walking into.

"Lady Aqua."

She phased out of her wonder, and looked at her escort.

"Yes?"

"I know I probably say anything to you, but I need to say thank you for what you did."

"You don't have to thank me…this is what I do now."

"I know, Lady Aqua, but you saved my family, and the town! I can't help but be eternally grateful to you from saving them from that giant Unversed!"

She blushed only slightly. "Thank you for your kind words."

He shook his head. "There is no need to thank me. You are a hero, and it was an absolute honor to escort you into the ball. I wish you good tidings tonight."

"Thank you." She let go of his arm, and walked into the room opened by two large doors opened by two other guards.

* * *

Aqua could not believe her eyes. The ballroom was absolutely breathtaking. From the angelic mural painted on the ceiling, to the golden chandeliers hanging all around the hall, to the golden ballroom itself, with ivory white balconies, and a large stage where a full orchestra was playing a Viennese Waltz…

Aqua could not believe she was there. The only thought that ran through her mind was 'If only Mother could see this place…'

She was snapped out of her amazement once more by a large booming voice behind her.

"Well, if he were stupid enough to lose his invitation, then he doesn't deserve to be here, and you can tell his retainer that!!...And there is our guest of honor! Was the carriage we set alright, Lady Aqua?"

She turned around, and saw the King himself, with his Queen at his side. Surprised once more, she bowed quickly, to pay respects to the World's Ruler.

"My King! The carriage was wonderful, as is this whole experience!"

The King laughed. "Oh ho ho ho! There is no need to bow to me, Lady Aqua! You are a Keyblade Master, and the savior of this town! Without your effort in eliminating that giant Unversed, we would not be having this party at all! So, I ask that you enjoy yourself tonight, my dear!"

Her face lit up. "Thank you, My Lord."

The King and Queen (who both smiled back at her) walked away to greet other members of royalty and aristocracy, leaving Aqua once more in awe of the event. Now a second thought ran through her mind…

'I might as well just go for it…'

She walked over to the dance floor, where a handsome aristocrat asked her for a dance. She said yes, and they began a Viennese Waltz.

* * *

She needed some air immediately.

Aqua found the nearest balcony exit, and slipped out under the sight of the party goers. The brisk night air hit her face, and gave her a sense of calm relief. She walked over to the stone rail, and gazed at the vast back lawn of the castle, illuminated by the moon and stars.

The night had started out so great. The first man was an excellent dancer, and their Viennese Waltz was wonderful. Then the next man wanted a tango, and she obliged. She had a lot of fun dancing…

…The thing that had begun to put a damper on the night was that the eyes and affections of most of the men there gazed at her. Instead of dancing requests, she received compliments on her beauty and grace, and declarations of true love from some of the younger men there, asking her to be their betrothed. At times, the offer did seem tempting, but Aqua turned them all down politely.

The night got worse when older, married nobles proposed a different sort of offer. Of course they flattered her with compliment after compliment, and then they would offer her a life free from all stress and strife…if she would become their mistress. Aqua was not so polite when rejecting these offers. But, this all became too much when these proposals did not stop.

Instead of a party in her honor, it was becoming an auction, where the beautiful new toy would go to the highest bidder. She had to step out for a moment, and enjoy some semblance of solitude.

"I knew this was a bad idea. I should never have come…"

"Well, if you had not come, then you would have known that these sorts of affairs were not for you. Also, I would never have had the chance to meet you."

Aqua turned around to see where the voice had come from. She stared defensively at a blue-eyed man, with somewhat short blond hair, and a typical men's ball wardrobe, although, his chest coat seemed to be longer than the rest of the men she encountered.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Be assured, my lady, that I am not a lovesick idiot or a pervert like those other men you've been encountering. I just wish to speak with you."

"I'm not looking for marriage, so go away."

"Trust me when I say that marriage is the absolute last thing I'd want at this moment. If it also eases your mind, I'm not here to seduce you either. To be fair, the only woman I have an interest in is Lady Luck."

Aqua's mind eased slightly, but her defenses stayed up.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled, and took a bow. "A lowly gambler. Nothing more."

"How can I trust your intentions, if I don't even know your name?"

The man laughed. "You have a point, but I cannot reveal that now. When I can reveal that information, I promise that I will. Now, however, I have another piece of information that will be of use to you."

She crossed her arms. "About?"

His iips formed a half-smile. "The Keyblade."

Once he said that, he knew he had her interest. "You are interested in become a Keyblade Master, are you not?"

"Yes, but I have no idea to go about doing it. I know I should find a Master, but I don't know how."

"Then my story will be of interest to you."

Aqua leaned up against the railing once more, as the Gambler walked to her side and leaned in front of her.

"I played cards with a Keyblade master once upon a time in a little Jazz club. I was waiting to play a game with a Prince named Naveen, when a man challenged me to a game of cards. We were briefly interrupted by those monsters known as "Unversed." The man materialized a Keyblade, and destroyed most of them in a flash."

"Most of them?"

"My dear, I'm not as helpless as I look."

"Are you a Keyblade Master?"

The man laughed once again. "No, I'm not as pure of heart as I look. I fight with cards instead."

Aqua was confused about how anyone can fight with a deck of cards. He noticed.

"If it helps, I use some magic as well."

Aqua nodded, and she asked him to continue.

"Well, after our little scuffle, we played a game of Poker. During our game, I had asked him if he were a Keyblade Master. He told me no, but he was in the process of earning the attention of one. I asked him to explain, and he told me that Master Eraqus did not just accept him because he could wield the Keyblade and had potential. They wanted someone with some experience behind that potential as well."

"How do I go about doing that?"

"The man told me that the Master tasked him with going out to different worlds to learn different methods of combat while fighting the Unversed. Then, the next step is bringing those concepts together to find their own unique style. Once that was completed, the Master would begin training them."

Aqua was in the middle of processing that information, when the man spoke up once more.

"So, I'm here to make you an offer. I'm a gambler, as you know. I don't just stay in one place. I go where the money goes, so I travel from world to world quite a bit. So, this is my proposition to you – I could use some company on my travels as nobody wants to be lonely, and it looks like you need to travel from world to world for your required experience. So, why don't you travel with me?"

The offer was the best she received all night, but it was still shady.

"How can I trust you?"

"I'm a gambler. Since when do I give anything for free?"

"Why me?"

"I don't know. When I saw you defeat that Unversed in this world, something told me that my destiny was connected to you in some way. I won my way into this ball to make you this offer, at great risk to myself, mind you."

She gave him an unbelieving look. "At great risk?"

"Nobles don't like losing their invite to the biggest ball of the month."

"Then he probably shouldn't have gambled it away."

He smiled, slyly. "Well, he thought it was a sure thing. To be fair, however, the odds were always in my favor."

Aqua looked at the man's face to see if any deception were leaking through the façade. His words, at the same time, were running through his head to see if all matched up. Didn't the King say something about a noble losing an invitation to the ball? Even if that were true, how can she know if he's telling the truth?

Still, he offered information she probably would not have found out on her own, and willingly at that. To add on, she would be ahead of the curve in training to be a Keyblade Master. If she were serious about mastering the Keyblade, she needed to go.

And, he was offering a life of adventure as well.

Her choice was clear.

Aqua smiled at the Gambler. "When do you leave?"

The man smiled, and laughed. "I'm grateful you've accepted. It really would have been shameful to beg, but I was prepared to go that far. I leave tomorrow night."

"Destination?"

"I was thinking of going to Port Royal, or maybe to Disney Town and Castle. I've always wanted to meet King Mickey…who is a Keyblade Master by the way."

She smiled. "Then Disney Castle it is. But, I still don't know your name…"

The man smiled back at her. "I told you earlier…but I'm a man who loves a game. So, here's what I'll do." He reached into his coat, and pulled out a coin.

"Heads, I'll tell you my name. Tails, you dance with me."

"Fair enough."

The man threw the coin in the air, caught it, and then flipped it over on top of his fist. He lifted up his top hand and revealed the result.

He put the coin back in his coat, and extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"

"You will tell me your name, and soon, Gambler."

"As you wish, but not tonight, my dear Aqua."

She took his hand, and he escorted her back into the ballroom. The band had just started playing a Waltz.

"Can you dance, Gambler?"

"Of course."

"Well Gambler, I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"I couldn't agree more. So, shall we begin our dance with destiny?"

Aqua looked up into his blue eyes, and nodded yes.

* * *

I hoped you enjoyed the story. I thought it reminded me a bit of the early episodes of the anime Spice and Wolf, but that might just be me. Anyway, thank you for reading and please, tell me what you think.


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